Definitely Him
by xoxo-catzeyez-xoxo
Summary: Gabriella..." Was all he had to say and she almost turned around. She almost faced him and looked him in the eyes. She almost ran back into his arms. Almost. Now a two-shot!
1. Definitely Him

**Hey there my faithful readers. This one-shot was written last year and I've been meaning to put it up for a long time. **

**It was something that just popped into my head and I hope you like it!**

**Also I wanted to add that I will be updating My Cinderella Story, but in a few weeks. I have a lot of school work and exams coming up, so they are my main priority at the moment.**

**Anyway, please enjoy and review to tell me what you think!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the character's, just the plot =]**

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****Definitely Him**

The tears fell out of her eyes and crashed down onto her cheeks resembling a waterfall. Her face was, like a waterfall, a beautiful sight to see. But she was feeling anything but beautiful in that moment, what she was looking at made her feel like the ugliest girl alive, maybe even the ugliest girl in the history of the world. But beautiful wasn't a word that crossed her mind.

Why did he choose her most trusted friend over her?

Did he not feel the same way she felt?

Why was her most trusted friend kissing him back?

Why were both of them torturing her?

The same questions flowed through her mind like a river as she looked at her most trusted friend make out with her best boy friend and long time crush. He friend knew that she was hopelessly in love with the guy she was now kissing but she was still kissing him. She looked away for a moment, wiping the tears away with the back of her sleeve, but when she glanced at the embracing pair again, the tears came back. She turned on her heels and decided that the sight was unbearable, as if she were suffocating. She didn't want to watch them anymore, she didn't want to feel as if her whole world was coming to an end. She forced her feet to listen to her mind and not her heart. She forced herself to walk away, or at least try to. She managed to take a couple of steps before hearing a voice that made her stomach do ten thousand somersaults and her legs feel like jelly. It was his voice.

"Gabriella..." Was all he had to say and she almost turned around. She almost faced him and looked him in the eye. She almost ran back into his arms. Almost. She was too tired to be stupid. Gabriella decided that it was time she stopped listening to what her heart told her to do and start listening to her mind. She was after all a bright girl, so her mind must have been doing something right. Gabriella fought that urge, that want to run back and decided to run forward instead. Run far away from the place she wanted to be. So that's exactly what she did.

"Gabriella!" He was shouting her name now, almost desperately. She knew he cared about her, just not in the way that she wanted him to. She knew he was worried about her and she didn't want him to worry, but she couldn't run back to him and she couldn't comfort him. Kelsi's smirking face was etched in her mind as she ran. How could she? How dare she? Gabriella thought to herself. She tried to get rid of her Jason ridden thoughts but they kept on coming back to her, and she found herself thinking about the good old days where it was just her and Jason...without the added Kelsi.

_Six-year-old Gabriella was seated in the playhouse, twirling her luscious, thick curls around her finger. Her mother had dropped her off at kindergarten around two hours ago, having to go off to work, Gabriella had run straight towards the playhouse. She had thought of many different games to play in the miniature house and had decided that they would keep her occupied for hours and hours, or just until her mother would come to collect her. _

_Now she was, to put it into plain words, bored with a capital B. She had played every game that was in her tiny head. She played with all of her dolls, the kitchen set and the shopping set. She had even combined all three in a master game, but she was still bored. Gabriella let a small sigh escape her naturally pink and pouty lips. She turned her head to look out of the small miniature window and at the other kids. They looked like they were having fun. A blonde girl was wearing a tiara and prancing around the dressing-up corner as if she owned the place. Another curly topped kid was bouncing a ball up and down, like playing squash with the floor. Gabriella's brown orbs scanned the room and landed on the only person she actually recognized._

_Jason Cross._

_He was her next door neighbor and sometimes his family joined hers in a special dinner. Then they would go out and play a game of soccer because Jason and his brother didn't like basketball, even though Gabriella always wanted to play that one game. Jason's older brother, Kennedy, was fairly nice to Gabriella, but Jason was sweeter. He was quite dim and wasn't exactly the brightest bulb in the batch, but Gabriella enjoyed his company and he made her laugh, that was a good enough excuse to keep him around. Gabriella smiled brightly and jumped off her tiny, plastic, red chair, so that she could run out of the playhouse and after her neighbor._

_"Jason! Jason!" She called out his name in her sweet voice. Jason ran ahead of her, not really hearing her call, and Gabriella was so caught up in trying to reach him that she didn't even notice the block of wood on the floor in front of her. In a matter of seconds Gabriella was on the floor, clutching her ankle in pain. Jason stopped and turned around, wondering where the voice of the little girl had gone. His eyes widened when he spotted her on the floor, with tears in her eyes. He quickly sprinted over towards her and bent down to her level._

_"You okay?" He asked, his voice laced with concern. Even when in searing pain, Gabriella couldn't help but note how sweet he was. She looked up at him with her brown orbs that were filled with water. She attempted to sniff back the tears and be strong but failed hopelessly as they began their tirade down her face. _

_"No...don't, don't cry!" Jason exclaimed, his concern now being replaced by panic. "Miss!" He yelled desperately at the top of his lungs. He looked down at Gabriella and then gave another yell, not being able to look at the little girl in pain. As he waited for Miss Stevens to show up, he grabbed hold of one of her hands and wiped her tears away with his free hand. Despite the fact that she was crying and was experiencing some mad pain, Gabriella smiled up at Jason for trying to make her feel better. Miss Stevens ran onto the scene and shooed all the on-lookers away._

_"Oh Gabriella." She sympathized as she observed the young girl's ankle. She touched various spots until Gabriella let out a small yelp and whimper. "You've just twisted your ankle honey, you'll be fine." She reassured Gabriella and Jason. "Jason be a sweetie and help Gabriella over to the playhouse and please stay with her." Miss Stevens gave Jason some stern orders before running off to contact Gabriella's mother. Jason helped Gabriella to her feet and then supported her all the way to the playhouse. He set her down gently on the same red, plastic chair as before. Gabriella sighed and huffed. _

_"Great...back here again." She spoke glumly and to no one in particular but Jason decided to enter the conversation himself. He laughed at her._

_"I'm right here with you, so you won't be THAT bored. Sorry about hurting you by the way. How is your ankle now?" Jason spoke apologetically but Gabriella waved it off._

_"It's fine, I'm fine. It's like my mommy always says, no pain no gain." She said with a grin on her face. Jason frowned but nodded nevertheless._

_"Okay...but I'm going to look after you from now on. Like as...as if I'm...as if I'm your best friend!" His face lit up and he grinned. As soon as Gabriella heard his sentence she beamed up at him._

_"That would be good! Best friends!" She exclaimed as they hugged._

Gabriella stopped at the end of the hallway, she had escaped them and escaped that haunting view. But that didn't stop her from feeling upset over the fact that he didn't come after her. When they were younger he hated upsetting her and they would always make up, but that was when it was just the two of them. She sighed and took yet another detour into the girls toilets. She knew that she could get some time to herself and some time to think when she locked herself into a cubicle. She put the toilet seat down and sat herself down on it, she pulled up her knees and buried her head into them.

She began to think about that scene she had seen and the tears came back. What had she done to deserve such treatment? She was the only one to befriend Kelsi all those years ago. But now that didn't seem to be enough for the composer.

_Thirteen-year old Gabriella made her way into the studio, alone. She opened the doors and walked in, alone. She was aware of the fact that all eyes were on her as she stopped and dropped down onto the floor to take a seat next to the rest of the class. It was an understatement to say that she was nervous, because nervous didn't cover the way she was feeling. Her mother was at work, as always, and Jason was at a soccer game. So she had to do this alone. The main reason why she was scared was because this was the first time she'd had to do something alone. But when she looked around the classroom, and noticed all the other nervous faces, she felt more confident and relaxed a little, if they could do it, so could she. _

_Just then the doors opened and everyone turned to see who it was. A young curly-haired brunette stepped into the room. She smiled as she closed the door behind her and walked gracefully into the classroom. Her body was oozing with confidence and it gave Gabriella a reality check. The pretty girl looked around with her brown, muddy eyes that were covered with thin framed spectacles. She spotted the empty space next to Gabriella and plonked herself down on the floor. She turned and smiled at Gabriella and the Latina returned it in fear of looking rude if she didn't._

_"Okay class..." The teacher stepped into the room, her veil flowing behind her as she walked. "Welcome to your first lesson of the Arts! This lesson will mainly involve us just getting to know each other and each others talents. I've looked through all of your papers and am glad to see that we have a wide variety of talents in this class. We have dancers and choreographers, actors and actresses, singers and songwriters, composers and everything else in between. And you're all in this room, together, now!"The teacher spoke with too much enthusiasm. Gabriella sneaked a glance at the girl sitting next to her, both rolled their eyes and smirked when they realized that they both thought that the teacher was too 'over the top'. "I'd like you all to share a piece of your gift with us, so Kelsi Neilson, you're up first." Ms Darbus called out the name and the girl next to Gabriella jumped up and walked over to the front of the classroom. She stood facing the students with pure and utter confidence._

_"Hi!" She waved at the class enthusiastically. "I'm Kelsi, as you know, and I'm a composer. I've composed songs for school plays before and many people have loved them, in fact some people just came to the show because of my music!" She exclaimed. There was some laughter in the classroom but some people were unsure on whether she was boasting or trying to make a joke. Kelsi ran over to the piano and sat down ready to play. Gabriella watched as her fingers moved delicately yet quickly on the keys. Everyone was amazed by the melody Kelsi played and it was just beautiful. Gabriella smiled and listened on until the end. When Kelsi stood up and bowed, Gabriella clapped the hardest and the loudest._

_"That was great." Gabriella whispered when Kelsi sat down again._

_"Thanks." Kelsi thanked Gabriella. Ms Darbus smiled at her students._

_"That was just marvelous Ms Nielson! Next up is...Ms Gabriella Montez." Ms Darbus called her name. Gabriella smiled and stood up. She marched towards the front of the class with her new and inspired confidence._

_"Hey everyone." Gabriella began to say. "Um I'm not certain that I can top Kelsi's amazing melody. But I'll try my best to be as good as I can be. I love to sing, it's my main passion. I also dance quite a lot and act here and there but singing is my main priority." Gabriella explained. Ms Darbus motioned for her to carry on. "Okay...ahem...I used to think, being like you was the key to having everything, every dream come true. _

_I used to think following the crowd was the only thing I could do, until I found out, I'm okay. _

_Sometimes you gotta do your own thing._

_Every winter turns to Spring._

_And everybody's got their own wings. _

_The little girl you knew, the one who never stood up to you. _

_Who kept her silence long, well she's gone with the wind. _

_Now I'm standing my ground, and who I am for that I'm proud and the girl that you knew, well she's gone with the wind..." Gabriella stopped and opened her eyes, everyone was staring at her, keeping completely quiet. _

_Gabriella felt embarrassed, was she that bad? Then a young lad from the back started to clap slowly and then the whole class joined in. Gabriella looked at the blue-eyed boy and smiled thankfully as Ms Darbus joined in on the clapping._

_"Gabriella, that was amazing. You certainly are talented." Ms Darbus smiled at her and Gabriella blushed as she went aback to sit down next to Kelsi._

_"That was...okay." Kelsi offered and turned around. Gabriella frowned, hurt by Kelsi's words but that disappeared when Kelsi turned and gave her a hug. Gabriella smile, maybe, just maybe she had made a new friend. Or a best friend who was a girl?_

'Some friend', Gabriella thought bitterly as she recalled the memory when she first met Kelsi. She should've realized that Kelsi was horrible from the start, she didn't even compliment Gabriella properly! Gabriella sighed and wiped away her dry tears with her hands. She stared at the black marks covering them and sighed. Her mascara had run, so much for it being a hundred percent waterproof. Everyone and everything was so unreliable nowadays. Gabriella was just about to step out of the cubicle when she heard a familiar voice.

"The look on her scrawny little face made it even more satisfying. More than it already was!" Gabriella winced, it was Kelsi. Gabriella looked through the small slit in the toilet door and watched Kelsi reapplying her make up. "She's been crushing on Jason ever since she set eyes on him. It's so sick, it's pathetic. Anyway he doesn't even look at her in that way, he actually laughed when I told him about it. How awesome is that?" She paused so she could let put a small laugh, or cackle. Gabriella gasped a little. Jason knew? He laughed? Maybe he wasn't the saint Gabriella always thought he was.

"Then he just tops it all off by saying that he wants ME! Then he asked me out and I agreed. He is mega cute and mega popular. That means I get to be the soccer captain's girlfriend. Plus Gabriella will be heartbroken once she hears about it. That'll show her who's the most talented and wanted out of us two. The answer is ME." Kelsi finished touching up her make up and exited the toilets. Gabriella walked out of the cubicle looking and feeling worse than before. Her best friend had chosen some other girl over her. Gabriella had been there for Jason when his brother was diagnosed with cancer, when his parents split up and his Dad remarried. She had always cared for him but he chose a girl who wore jealousy like designer wear instead. It was always evident. Gabriella shook her head, wanting to get rid of all the thoughts. But he mind slowly went back to the day that caused Kelsi to blow up.

_"Kelsi!" Seventeen-year old Gabriella called out for her friend of four years. They were both attending East High School and were both popular in their own sense. Gabriella was also considered as one of the hottest, 'have to bang' girls in school, but all she cared about right then was the petite brunette who was marching away from her furiously._

_"What?" Kelsi turned around and asked Gabriella in a rude manner. "What do you want now?" Gabriella looked taken aback by Kelsi's tone of voice, it had never been as cold as it was now._

_"I just wanted to apologize about the scholarship, I didn't know that I was going to get it. Why are you mad at me for that?' Gabriella asked. Sure both of them had wanted the scholarship to Julliard and Gabriella had nailed it. But if Kelsi had gotten it then Gabriella who have been over the moon and completely estatic for her friend. It made no sense at all that Kelsi was acting as if Gabriella __stole__ it from her. _

_"You could have let me have it! You didn't have to sing for them, you knew that they would love that because everyone loves your voice! But no you had to sing AND dance for them, just to show that you're better than me. My problem is that an arrogant, talentless bitch stole MY scholarship. You're not sorry, not yet anyway." Kelsi spat at Gabriella and smirked evilly before walking away._

_Gabriella was unsure on what to think, she hadn't purposefully upstaged Kelsi. She just wanted to show off what she had and Ms Darbus had encouraged her. When Kelsi exploded at her, Gabriella viewed it as bad. But it wasn't. It was actually good. Good because she finally found out what Kelsi was truly like. And Gabriella didn't like the new Kelsi, or the real Kelsi, at all. Also Gabriella wasn't even 99 percent sure that the scholarship was hers. She was only certain that she had lost her best girl friend over that one percent she was sure was hers._

Gabriella ran as fast as her tanned legs would take her. She didn't pay attention to all the people staring at her. All she was thinking about was Jason. How could he laugh at her and call her pathetic? He was supposed to be her best friend! At the end of the day, he didn't really give a rats ass about her and now Gabriella was done caring for him as well. Her love for her best friend had blinded her from seeing his true colours. Kelsi had just lifted the blindfold and helped her to see clearly. Gabriella now knew the truth about Jason.

Gabriella walked around looking for a place to hide away from Jason and Kelsi. She spotted the gym doors and rushed over to them, no one was in the gym during lunch. She opened the doors and crept into the gym. After closing the doors behind her, she walked over towards the bleachers. She was surprised to find a group of friends sitting around, chatting and eating as if the gym was one of their houses. Gabriella turned around to leave, hoping that they didn't notice the redness of her face or the puffiness of her eyes. The gang just stared at her retreating back.

"Wait...' A deep, masculine voice made Gabriella freeze. She turned around slowly, almost cautiously, and instantly felt herself being pulled into a whirlpool of cobalt blue eyes. They were just like the ones that belonged to the guy who had given her her first clap in the class that she met Kelsi. Gabriella just stood, glued to her spot, not knowing what to do or what to say. She couldn't think of any words to say to the boy with beautiful eyes. Not to mention perfect brown locks, that looked so soft and made Gabriella want to run her hands through it. His shirt was tight fitted and Gabriella could almost see his muscles bulging. "You okay?" He asked, his voice soft and laced with concern. Gabriella just broke down crying there and then. The whole gang rushed over to her. The girls trying to comfort her and the boys wondering what was going on.

**TEN MINUTES LATER**

Gabriella wiped her tears away with the back of her sleeve, she then looked up at all the worried faces staring back at her. She didn't even know who they were and they were being so kind to her. It seemed as if the blue-eyed, more than perfect looking boy had read her mind. He stepped forward, causing her heart to miss a beat, and some of his hair fell over his eyes. He combed it back very...sexily and Gabriella sighed. He then held out his hand for her to shake.

"I'm Troy, Troy Bolton." He introduced himself. Gabriella took his hand and felt an electric current rush through her body, one she had never felt when she touched Jason. He flashed her a million-dollar smile, accompanied with pearly white teeth and Gabriella felt like she had died and gone to heaven. "I'm uh the basketball captain I uh guess..." Gabriella's eyes widened. Bolton. Jason's enemy. They were always fighting. It was like Soccer VS Basketball. But Gabriella wasn't so concerned with Jason, not when Troy was standing a few feet away from her.

"I'm Sharpay Evans, Co-president of the Drama Club, Queen of all that is Pink, Starred in all of the school's musicals blah blah." Sharpay introduced herself. She was a platinum blonde with sharp, Bambi brown eyes and thin, pouty lips. She was covered from head to toe in pink and sparkles so Gabriella didn't find it too weird to know that this girl was the Queen of Pink. If she wasn't then Gabriella would've been surprised.

"I'm Ryan Evans. Sharpay's twin brother. Co-president of the drama club and I've also starred in the musicals. All of them." Ryan copied his sister. Gabriella didn't find it hard to think that he was Sharpay's brother. He too had blonde hair but with crystal blue eye instead. He wasn't decked out in pink, but he was definitely colorful.

"Chad Danforth, co-captain of the basketball team. Dating one of the hottest chick's ever. Plus I have the coolest hair!" Chad gripped some of his fluffy Afro in his hands. Gabriella laughed and nodded in agreement. He was wearing sneakers and had a basketball tucked underneath his arm.

"Taylor McKessie, apparently one of the hottest chick's ever and dating a total jock. I'm also the captain of the scholastic decathlon team." Taylor introduced herself. Whilst Gabriella didn't think Taylor was 'hot' she certainly thought she was pretty. Dark chocolate skin, velvety eyes, satin drapes as hair, and also the pefect body.

"Zeke Baylor, basketballer and I, uh, cook!" Zeke said, Gabriella looked up at him and noticed how tall he was, even with his skin head.

"Very well may I add." Chad said and Gabriella laughed, he seemed to be fond of food.

"He's also my boyfriend." Sharpay glared at Zeke.

"Sorry babes, forgot to mention that-" Zeke stopped when he noticed Sharpay glaring again. "I mean that I was getting to it.' He covered. Gabriella giggled at the very much in love couple.

"I'm Martha Cox, dancer extraordinaire!" Martha yelled and performed one quick dance move that impressed Gabriella. Martha had a lot of brown, tumbling curls and a smile on her face that was pretty infectious.

"I'm Gabriella Montez, singer and dancer I guess." Gabriella spoke quietly and uncertainly. The gang just smiled at her.

"We know who you are." Ryan explained. Gabriella looked confused.

"You do?" She asked, she had never spoken to them before and she wasn't THAT popular. Gabriella gulped and some new and not so wonderful thoughts entered her mind. They knew. They knew about Jason. She sighed and got ready to feel totally and utterly humiliated.

"Yeah who doesn't know you? I mean the way Troy goes on and on..." Troy quickly placed a hand over his best friend's big mouth.

"Chad has no idea what he's talking about half the time." Troy explained and Gabriella giggled. She liked Chad and liked Troy a lot more.

"It's okay, I like Afro Boy." Gabriella smiled. Chad grinned and stuck his tongue out at Troy who seemed to be phased by the sound of Gabriella's laughter. Taylor nudged him and brought him back to reality.

"So as I was saying, why were you crying?" Troy asked. Gabriella stopped laughing and looked around at the people she had just met. They all seemed to be interested and Gabriella trusted them. So she decided to tell them.

**TEN MINUTES LATER**

"So then I rushed in here and bumped into you lot." Gabriella sniffed a little. Sharpay, Taylor and Martha hugged the Latina whilst the guys paced around the gym. They felt sorry for the girl they knew all about and angry because of what Jasion made her go through. They had just met her but they felt as if they had known her for years and felt extremely protective of her.

"What an idiot!" Zeke vented as he sat down next to Sharpay who nodded in agreement.

"I would never choose a conniving little witch over my best friend, no matter what." Chad added.

"Yeah, Jason's a Class A twat." Ryan placed his opinion forward. Gabriella started to feel suffocated.

"He's not a twat Ryan, he's just blinded by his love for Kelsi." Gabriella spoke up and everyone looked at her in awe.

"You're defending him?" Martha said, or rather asked. Gabriella didn't know what to say because she was asking herself the same question.

"He hurt you, so forget him." Taylor spoke up.

"Yeah and if he really cared about you then he would have ran after you. I know I would have." Troy said and then marched out of the gym. Gabriella sighed and looked at her newly discovered friends. She placed a questioning look on her face.

"He's dealing with some...issues right now. I think it'd be good if you go talk to him." Sharpay advised her. Gabriella nodded and took off in the same direction as Troy.

"Let's just hope they come back holding hands and wearing dreamy first kiss looks on their faces." Taylor prayed and everyone agreed.

**OUTSIDE**

Troy was seated outside the gym on a bench, gazing up at the clear, blue sky. Gabriella smiled at the peaceful look on his face as she approached him.

"Hey." She said as she took a seat next to him.

"Hey.' He replied with a surprised look on his face, Gabriella was doing all she could to stop herself from lunging at him. "I was expecting Shar to come but you're good as well...in fact much better." As Troy whispered those last few words, a shiver ran down Gabriella's spine. She smiled at him and he couldn't help but smile back.

"So, what's your deal with Jason then?" She asked him, she noticed that her heart didn't miss a beat when she recited her ex-crush's name. "Troy?" Gabriella spoke, noting the fact that her heart did miss a beat this time round. But she chose to ignore it...for now.

"Normal issues really. The whole soccer and basketball thing is some of it. But he has one thing that I may never have." He admitted, his eyes locked on her. Gabriella's legs buckled underneath the intensity of his gaze, it was so soft, yet so powerful.

"What's that then?" She asked, noticing that her voice had gone up an octave. Troy smiled as he noticed it too.

"You." He stated simply and then looked away from her. Gabriella just stared at him.

"Me?" Her voice had reached squeaky.

"Yeah, you." He looked at her again and she looked back at him. Both falling deeper and deeper into each other's eyes, each other's gaze, not wanting to break the intensity of the gaze. Slowly he began to lean towards her and Gabriella felt herself doing the same. Her heart was beating uncontrollably as she felt the heat reflecting off his lips and his hot breath tickling her face. Troy watched her carefully before swooping down and capturing her lips with his own. Gabriella held back for a moment, but only a moment before deepening the kiss, placing her arms around his neck, running her hands through his hair, just like she'd imagined before. He pulled her onto his lap, his arms clasped tightly around her waist as their bodies pressed up against one another. Neither one wanted to break it off.

"Oi Bolton! Get off her!" The two broke apart unwillingly and began to shoot daggers at the person who interrupted them. It was Jason with Kelsi standing behind him looking completely shocked. Gabriella no longer felt that warmth when she looked at Jason, instead she touched her tingling lips and grinned as Troy's grip tightened around her. "Gabriella get here." Jason ordered. Gabriella looked at him and then back at Troy. She didn't even need to think twice about where she'd rather stay, in Troy's arms of course. Locked in his passionate embrace.

"Sorry, no can do." She said as she snuggled closer to Troy.

"Gabriella if you don't get off him then you won't see me around anymore. So choose now. Me or him?" Jason asked and of course Gabriella had to render the answer that came straight from her heart.

"Him." She stated blatantly. Jason stormed off with Kelsi trailing behind him. Gabriella smiled at Troy before reconnecting their lips. Yeah him, definitely him.

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**Soo what did you think?**

**Press the review button and let me know =]  
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	2. He Always Wanted Her

**Hey guys! I know that this was just meant to be a one-shot, but I wanted to write this from Troy's point of view... and maybe if this gets a lot of reviews I'll write from Kelsi and Jason's point of view. But that depends on you lot!**

**I wanted to say thanks to those who've been patient with me on My Cinderella Story, and I've got two-three chapters left to write for it and hopefully I'll get them done before I go back to school!**

**Also this is the second draft to He Always Wanted Her. The first was lost unfortunately (and I was writing until one in the morning for that one!)  
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**Anyway here is Troy's version on what happens in 'Definitely Him'**

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**He Always Wanted Her**

_He looked up at the tall, sophisticated building and thought about turning around. He almost gave up all his dreams and aspirations and ran away. Almost. He would've done it if it weren't for the two blonde's blocking his way._

"_T, just open the door and walk in, it's not that hard." He rolled his eyes at the sarcastic tone of her voice. He had gotten so used to her snarky remarks that they didn't affect him anymore. _

"_Yeah, T, just push the door that says PUSH." The other blonde chimed in and he turned around, clearly annoyed now. He was used to the sarcastic remarks from his best friend, but not from his little sister._

"_God Shar, you just __had__ to be her role model. Now I have to deal with you all the time!" He exclaimed and waved his hands in the air for dramatic effect. His best friend, Sharpay, rolled her Bambi-like brown eyes and ran a freshly manicured hand through her newly done blonde locks. At the 'delicate' age of thirteen, she had been plunged into the fashion world. In other words, her mother made her enter every beauty pageant that came their way. So it was normal for her to behave like such a... beauty queen. Troy didn't mind it, in fact he found it rather amusing. But then Sharpay met his little sister and now his ten year old sister aspired to be like Sharpay. Icy. Stuck-up. And Spoilt. What a fabulous dream._

"_God Troy, talk about being dramatic! And you call __me__ the drama queen." Sharpay scoffed at his actions. Now it was Troy who rolled his cobalt blue eyes._

"_Whatever, let's just get this over and done with. Are you coming with me?" He asked his friend. Sharpay smirked and he knew instantly that he had been tricked. "Sharpay!" He yelled._

"_What?" She pouted and looked up at him through her lashes, trying to act innocent. If Troy wasn't her best friend, then he would've fallen for it. But he was her best friend. And he wasn't falling for it. _

"_Shar you know I hate doing this in front of people. I can't do it alone! You have to come with me." He almost begged her. Sharpay raised an eyebrow._

"_Troy Bolton just said that he 'can't' do something." She looked at Louise, Troy's sister. "Has Troy ever said that before?" She asked. Louise shook her head._

"_He's always said that he can do anything and everything." Louise loved the look on her brother's face at that moment. It was one she, and he, would never forget. _

"_Shut up Lou." Troy glared at his smaller sibling. Louise stuck her tongue out at him._

"_Cut it out you two!" Sharpay snapped, bringing both their attention back on her. "Troy Bolton, you can do this and you will do this. Or so help me I will send copies of those tapes I have of you singing to all the people of Albuquerque. I have the power to do that." She grinned evilly. Troy's eyes widened._

"_You wouldn't."_

"_Oh, I so would." Sharpay stared at him._

"_Yup, she so would." Louise added in. Troy groaned and gave up, which was what he always did when it came to Sharpay._

"_Fine, see you in an hour." He said, defeated. He dragged his feet along with him as he walked up to the front entrance of 'the Chapel of the Arts'. He snorted at the name, what psycho came up with that?_

"_Good luck!" He heard Sharpay yell and rolled his eyes yet again. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately. Troy walked into the reception and smiled at the young receptionist._

"_Hey, urm I'm looking for the Young and Talented group?" He asked. It was another stupid name; he really wasn't looking forward to meeting the genius who came up with them._

"_Right that way Sir." Troy nodded and walked off into the direction that the red polished finger pointed towards. He opened the doors and walked in, glad to find that he was one of the first to arrive. It would have been awkward if he had arrived late. He made his way to the far back corner of the room and sat down. _

"_Here comes the waiting." He mumbled to himself. He looked around the room and spotted a group of girls smiling at him. He grinned back and they began to giggle. He smiled to himself and then looked up at the ceiling. The door opened again and Troy looked to see if it was their teacher. Instead he feasted his eyes on an angel. She had cascading mahogany curls that looked so soft and bounced as she walked into the room. Her eyes were wide and nervous, but a beautiful honey colour that made Troy never want to look away from them. She had a small, rounded nose and full pouty lips. Lips that Troy now wanted to taste. Her black knee length mini-dress hugged her developing body, with matching black leggings that outlined the shape of her legs. He smiled as her eyes scanned the room and for that one second where they landed on him, his heart soared. Troy watched the girl as she fell to the ground and looked around nervously. _

_The door opened again and everyone but Troy looked up. The only time he noticed that someone had come in, was when another girl sat down next to his angel. Then he found himself comparing them. The angel's skin tone was sun kissed compared to the other girl's pale face. His angel smiled and Troy felt as if he was going to die. That smile. He would surely remember that for the rest of his life. Her smile made him want to smile. _

"_Okay class..." Troy's thoughts were interrupted as their teacher entered. Her veil flowed behind her as she walked. Troy was shocked when he saw that it was Ms Darbus a teacher from East High. His older brother, Jayden, was always going on about how annoying she was and now she was Troy's teacher. Great. __"Welcome to your first lesson of the Arts! This lesson will mainly involve us just getting to know each other and each other's talents. I've looked through all of your papers and am glad to see that we have a wide variety of talents in this class. We have dancers and choreographers, actors and actresses, singers and songwriters, composers and everything else in between. And you're all in this room, together, now!" Ms Darbus spoke with a lot of enthusiasm and Troy rolled his eyes. He snuck a glance at his angel and saw that she was smirking at the girl next to her. He sighed and swore that she would be the death of him, even though he had just known her for a few minutes. "I'd like you all to share a piece of your gift with us, so Kelsi Nielson, you're up first." Troy watched as the girl seated next to the most beautiful being ever stood up and strode to the front like she owned the place._

_"Hi!" She waved at the class enthusiastically. "I'm Kelsi, as you know, and I'm a composer. I've composed songs for school plays before and many people have loved them, in fact some people just came to the show because of my music!" She exclaimed. There was some laughter in the classroom but some people were unsure on whether she was boasting or trying to make a joke. Troy for one thought she was being a little over-confident. On that note Kelsi ran over to the piano and sat down ready to play. _

_Troy was paying no attention as Kelsi played. He was just watching the perfect girl as she listened to the not so bad melody that was playing. He watched as she smiled and just listened to the sound of the music. When Kelsi finished Troy saw that the exotic beauty clapped the loudest and hardest. This Kelsi girl was a lucky friend. Kelsi stood up and took a bow before returning to her seat. She exchanged a couple of words with the goddess next to her._

_"That was just marvelous Ms Nielson! Next up is...Ms Gabriella Montez." Ms Darbus called someone's name out. Troy watched as his angel smiled and stood up. Gabriella. What a perfect name to put with such a perfect face. His eyes followed her as she walked to the front. _

_"Hey everyone." Gabriella spoke and Troy smiled, she had a very sweet voice. "Um I'm not certain that I can top Kelsi's amazing melody. But I'll try my best to be as good as I can be. I love to sing, it's my main passion. I also dance quite a lot and act here and there but singing is my main priority." Troy liked her even more, knowing that she was modest. He hadn't met anyone modest in ages, being Sharpay's best friend wasn't always amazing. _

_"Okay...ahem...I used to think, being like you was the key to having everything, every dream come true. _

_I used to think following the crowd was the only thing I could do, until I found out, I'm okay. _

_Sometimes you gotta do your own thing._

_Every winter turns to spring._

_And everybody's got their own wings. _

_The little girl you knew, the one who never stood up to you. _

_Who kept her silence long, well she's gone with the wind. _

_Now I'm standing my ground, and who I am for that I'm proud and the girl that you knew, well she's gone with the wind..." Gabriella stopped and opened her eyes. Troy's mouth was wide open. He couldn't believe that that sweet sound just came out of her mouth. It was literally music to his ears. He looked around and smiled when he saw that everyone was in awe. She had a pretty big voice for a thirteen year old. _

_Troy took a deep breath before standing up and beginning that oh so famous one clap that started a round of applause. Gabriella looked at him gratefully and then smiled at him. Troy ignored that super somersault that his stomach did and focused on clapping and remembering how to breathe. _

_"Gabriella, that was amazing. You certainly are talented." Ms Darbus smiled at her and Gabriella blushed as she went back to sit down next to Kelsi._

_**An hour later...**_

_Troy walked out of the building behind Gabriella. She was chatting animatedly to Kelsi. He watched as her mouth moved and her facial expressions changed. Whoever said love at first sight didn't exist was totally wrong. _

"_So how'd it go?" He snapped out of his trance to find Sharpay standing in front of him._

"_Absolutely perfect..." He said dreamily. Sharpay raised an eyebrow and looked at Louise who just shrugged._

"_Troy. Troy!" Sharpay snapped her fingers in front of Troy's face._

"Huh?" Troy opened his eyes, alarmed and awake. He looked around him and saw all his friends looking at him with worried expressions on their faces.

"Troy, I've been calling you for the past five minutes." An older and bossier version of Sharpay came into view. Seventeen year old Troy Bolton just looked confused. "You were daydreaming again." She sang in her annoying, melodic voice.

"Whatever..." Troy mumbled. After all these years, he was still best friends with Sharpay. Some people would have gotten sick and tired of her antics but Troy was a lot more tolerant than others. He knew that Sharpay found it hard to find friends and he wanted to be there for her in a brotherly way.

"Anyway, back to reality, Ms Darbus is talking about the Spring Musicale and the auditions are happening this Friday, in free period." Sharpay informed their small circle of friends. They were all seated in the quad just outside the East High School, basking in the sun and enjoying their free period.

"So, why do we need to know about that?" Zeke asked Troy winced as Sharpay smacked him on the head. Zeke Baylor was Sharpay's boyfriend of three months; it was the longest recurring relationship that Sharpay had ever had. The only person Troy felt sorry for was Zeke. He had to put up with Sharpay 24/7. Zeke was on the East High basketball team with Troy, who was the captain. Even though he was an awesome basketball player, his outstanding quality was his ability to cook the most amazing deserts ever.

"We need to know that because I overheard a certain someone talking to Ms Darbus about auditioning for the lead role." Sharpay grinned and glanced at Troy.

"You're auditioning for the musical? Oh, please dude, don't!" Troy rolled his eyes at his goofy, overreacting friend, Chad. Chad was the co-captain of the basketball team and proudly carried a basketball around with him, everywhere. Troy wouldn't be surprised if Chad _showered_ with the basketball tucked underneath his arm. Chad looked at Troy with a worried expression on his face. Troy reached forward and patted his friend's wild Afro.

"I'm not buddy, don't fret." He explained and then looked at Sharpay. She flicked a strand of her more golden blonde locks and then grinned.

"Two words. Troy's. Angel." She smirked as she saw Troy's face light up. "Yup, she's got the voice and the looks and all around talent and she's taking all that to the stage." Sharpay said somewhat proudly. Ever since she heard about Troy's infatuation with Gabriella, she liked to keep tabs on her. Just so that she could help out in any way possible. Any other guy friend would think that was freaky, but Troy loved it cause he knew that that was how Sharpay showed that she did care.

"Oh yeah, did she get the scholarship?" Taylor asked Sharpay. Taylor was Chad's girlfriend. Troy couldn't imagine what Taylor went through having Chad as a boyfriend. At first she had ignored him and said no, but then she softened up and got used to him. They had been together for under a year and couldn't be happier.

"Yes, I can proudly say that she got it!" Ryan, Sharpay's twin brother, spoke instead of Sharpay. He was really excited and felt happy for Gabriella. "She found out yesterday and looked happy about it for just about two minutes." A frown replaced his smile. Troy looked at Sharpay.

"Her friend Kelsi wasn't as excited as she was, let's just put it that way. I've always hated that girl." Sharpay added. _Me too. _Troy thought to himself.

"Yeah, well Gabriella deserved the scholarship. She sounds like one of those women on Broadway." Ryan complimented Gabriella. Ryan just moved to Albuquerque a year ago, he was living with his and Sharpay's father in Los Angeles. Their parents were divorced but then decided to remarry to give their children a proper upbringing, even if it was ten years too late. Ryan was the male version of Sharpay. He wasn't decked out in pink but was extremely colourful and risk-taking with his appearance. He had the same blonde locks, but with crystal blue eyes instead of the brown ones Sharpay had.

"Enough about Gabriella now, what's for lunch?" Chad asked, placing a hand over his stomach. Everyone was quiet as they heard the low rumble of Chad's stomach. A second passed before they burst out laughing.

"Okay let's go before that turns into some kind of thunderstorm." Taylor mocked her boyfriend. Troy grinned, that was one of the reasons why he loved Taylor. She was always mocking Chad and Chad would just sit back and take it.

"Zeke, do you have any delicious snacks?" Chad begged their teammate. Zeke rolled his eyes and threw a bag of cookies at Chad, who opened and ate them happily. Troy just rolled his eyes at his friend and walked alongside Sharpay as they made their way towards East High. Troy looked up at the building and smiled.

"_Finally, you're back." Troy looked over at the couch and wasn't surprised to find Sharpay sitting on it with a box of chocolates in her hands. She popped a chocolate into her mouth and then looked at him expectantly. _

"_What?" Troy asked, feeling like he had done something wrong and that she was about to yell at him._

"_You're late Troy! We were supposed to go over outfits for tomorrow and such!" Troy looked at Sharpay with an eyebrow raised; she had definitely gone mad this time._

"_Sharpay, I don't need to discuss outfits with you. I'm not a girl. I don't care about what I wear. Go annoy Taylor." He advised. Sharpay looked down. Troy sighed. "What happened now?" He asked wearily. _

"_Nothing. I just might have tried to get her to wear something slightly racy and she got a little mad that's all." Sharpay spoke in a quiet voice that made Troy feel sorry for her. _

"_Shar, Taylor doesn't like to dress up like you do. Stop trying to make her into another you, like you did with Louise, and just try and leave her as she is. That way you'll be better friends." Troy advised her again. Sharpay nodded and stood up, throwing the empty box of chocolates to a side. Troy sighed knowing that he would have to pick them up later._

"_Thanks T, I owe ya." She thanked him. "Oh!" Her eyes lit up as she remembered something. "How was class today? Made any progress?" She asked winking at him. Troy knew instantly that he wasn't talking about his singing abilities._

"_No I haven't. That stupid Cross is always there. Stuck to her side." Troy frowned at the memory. Sharpay noticed this._

"_What happened?" She asked._

"_Well, I think, I think that she likes him." He told his friend whose face just dropped._

"_What? Oh Troy, I'm really sorry." Troy stiffened; she was being emotional and sympathetic and totally not what he needed at that moment. _

"_No Shar, it's okay. I wasn't that into her anyway. If she wants to choose Cross then she can." He shrugged and then began to make his way up to his room. Knowing that Sharpay would linger for a few moments before letting herself out and leaving him alone. _

_**The Next Day**_

_Troy walked into homeroom and was greeted by the sound of his teammates._

"_Troy!"_

"_Yo Captain!"_

"_T-man!" _

"_Hoops..." Troy ignored the calls and made his way to the back of the classroom, where all his friends were seated._

"_Hey guys." He spoke to them. They all nodded in response._

"_You okay?" Chad asked him. Troy nodded._

"_Yeah just peachy." He replied. Chad shut up and sat back in his chair. The captain was depressed and the team knew it. But only two members were aware of the reason as to why he was upset. Troy sunk down into his chair hoping that the thirty minutes of homeroom would pass quickly. The door opened and Troy's homeroom teacher walked in. Troy smiled a little as he realised that she was wearing the same veil she wore when he first saw Gabriella. Ms Darbus turned to face her students and sighed. She opened her mouth and the first thing she said was totally expected of her._

"_Mobiles away! Don't you children know that they can give you cancer?" She spoke dramatically. Troy shook his head at her, not in reply to her question though._

"_Well, you children should research that and we shall begin our session once Mr Danforth has removed the hockey puck from underneath his arm." Ms Darbus glared at Chad whose expression was between annoyed and confused._

"_Hockey puck? It's a basketball woman! A basketball!" Chad stood up and shoved the basketball out in front of him. _

"_Thank you Mr Danforth." Ms Darbus plucked the basketball out of Chad's hands and placed it in the front of the classroom on her own chair. Chad rolled his eyes and sat down again. Clearly annoyed. "Now that the object of annoyance has been removed, we can carry on with today's session. Now as you know..." Ms Darbus began her daily rant and the entire basketball team groaned quietly. It was a well known fact that Ms Darbus' rants usually put people, and in this case sport stars, to sleep. However, today was the day she was interrupted._

_The door to room 109 opened and in walked the girl that filled Troy's dreams. His breath hitched as he saw those curly tendrils that framed her flawless face. Her eyes were the same shade as he remembered, soft honey, just as sweet as actual honey. She walked up to Ms Darbus gracefully and handed her a piece of paper. Ms Darbus scanned over the page with her beady eyes – Chad's words not Troy's – and smiled down at Gabriella._

"_Well, it looks like we are in for a treat students. Miss Montez will be joining our homeroom from now on. Apparently hers is too full. Oh well, their loss, our gain." Ms Darbus smiled down at Gabriella and there was no objection to the fact that Ms Darbus adored Gabriella. "So Gab- Miss Montez, please introduce yourself." Ms Darbus never called anyone by their first name, and she was trying to treat Gabriella the same as all her other tutors. _

"_Urm, I'm Gabriella Montez, I sing, dance and act..." Gabriella smiled nervously._

"_Very well may I add?" Sharpay intersected. She looked back and grinned at Troy who wasn't even paying attention to her. He was focusing on the beauty standing in front of the class._

"_Dude snap out of it." Chad whispered in his ear. Troy just nodded his head, knowing that he would definitely enjoy homeroom from now on._

The gang made their way into the cafeteria and Chad rushed forward towards the dinner queue.

"Chad!" Taylor yelled out at her boyfriend.

"I've saved you a place!" Chad yelled back, giving the freshman next to him a look. The freshman gladly made way for Taylor who looked at the kid apologetically.

"He gets too excited too quickly." She excused her boyfriend's behaviour. The freshman just grinned wildly making the rest of the gang erupt in a fit of laughter.

"Those two... never gets old." Zeke said between laughs.

"I can't find a table and our usual one's been taken over." Sharpay muttered the last few words.

"By..." Zeke asked.

"Cross crew." She spit out. Troy felt his blood boil. He hated Jason Cross with every fibre of his being. Jason Cross was the school's soccer captain as was Troy the school's basketball captain. For some reason Jason didn't view basketball as a sport. He thought it was a – quote- "little girl's game" – unquote. Troy found that amusing, the real reason why Jason hated it was because Troy beat him out for basketball captain.

"Let's go and find somewhere else to sit." Ryan said, not wanting another fight to take place.

"Why? Cross isn't even there."Sharpay protested.

"Shar... just leave it." Ryan said, steering her out of the cafeteria. Troy sighed and followed them out. There was only one reason why he hated Jason and that was just too obvious.

On their way out they bumped into Martha, the last edition to their gang. Martha had just come out of dance class and was starving.

The gang walked out of the cafeteria and into the gym. Their second favourite place to hang out. They would sit and eat and then the boys would also engage in a game of two on two basketball. Ryan may be the co-president of the drama club but he did have skills on the court.

They sat down in the bleachers and began to eat.

"Chad slow down!" Taylor scolded as Chad shoved fries in his mouth at the truck load.

"Jusht sho hungwi." He spoke with a full mouth.

"Ew! Gross. We did not need to see that Danforth!" Sharpay covered her eyes at the sight of Chad's food. The others cringed in disgust as Chad tried to swallow the handful of food that was in his mouth. Martha, even though she was disgusted, reached over and grabbed a handful of chips from Chad's plate.

"So did you guys here about Jessica?" Taylor began. "She got off with Mike on the tennis courts." She scrunched up her nose in disgust. Sharpay laughed.

"Mike and Jess, now there's a match made in heaven. Both as desperate as each other!" She said. Troy rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, they're on and off and on and off. It's utterly absurd and completely annoying." Martha added.

"God you girls just gossip at every hour of the day don't you." He accused the three females of the group. Sharpay looked shocked and raised her hand to her mouth dramatically.

"Troy Bolton, you take that back!" She demanded. Troy rolled his eyes again as he always did when it came to Sharpay.

"No..." He grinned at her and she grabbed a fry off Chad's plate and chucked it at her best friend.

"Stop it!" Troy laughed as he grabbed some fries off Taylor's plate and chucked them back at his blonde bestie. They didn't hear the door slam and the light footsteps in the gym until Sharpay stopped at looked at their visitor. She glanced at Troy who then turned to see who it was. That same wave of want hit him as he saw her red and tear ridden face. She stopped for a moment before turning around and walking away. The gang watched her retreating back. Taylor nudged Troy and he opened his mouth to speak. "Wait..."

She froze at the sound of his voice, turning around slowly. Almost cautiously and she stared at him. Troy could feel his legs buckling as he looked into her honey coloured orbs. He opened his mouth to speak again. "You okay?" He asked, his voice had changed from fun and careless to gentle and concerned. Her eyes were puffy and red; she looked like she had been crying for a long time. Troy's assumptions were confirmed when she broke down crying at his questions. Sharpay, Martha and Taylor rushed up to her quickly, with the boys at their heels. They cradled her and wondered what was wrong.

**TEN MINUTES LATER**

Troy watched as Gabriella wiped her tears away with the back of her sleeve; she looked up at the gang's faces nervously and anxiously. Her eyes settled on him and he nearly fell over at the intensity of her gaze, it was as if she was analysing him in her mind. He took a step forward and combed away those cursed strands of hair that always fell over his eyes. He thought he heard Gabriella sigh at his action but ignored it and held out his hand for her to shake.

"I'm Troy, Troy Bolton." He introduced himself and then almost kicked himself for sounding like he was James Bond or something. Gabriella took his hand and an electric current flowed through Troy's body. He looked up at her and smiled, hoping that she couldn't tell how nervous he was. "I'm uh the basketball captain I uh guess..." He said, stammering. Gabriella's eyes widened at his words and he cursed the being that was Jason Cross. Gabriella and Jason were best friends and that meant that she knew of his feud with Troy.

"I'm Sharpay Evans, Co-president of the Drama Club; Queen of all that is Pink, starred in all of the school's musicals blah...blah." Sharpay introduced herself, interrupting the silence.

"I'm Ryan Evans, Sharpay's twin brother. Co-president of the drama club and I've also starred in the musicals. All of them." Ryan copied Sharpay. Troy watched as Gabriella's eyes moved from Ryan to Sharpay and then back again. She was, no doubt, comparing the similarities between them. Chad moved forward to introduce himself.

"Chad Danforth, co-captain of the basketball team. Dating one of the hottest chicks ever. Plus I have the coolest hair!" Troy rolled his eyes as Chad gripped some of his wild curls in his hands. Surprisingly Gabriella laughed and Troy smiled. Music to his ears. It was like a chiming of bells. She nodded in agreement to Chad's statement. Taylor also rolled her eyes at Chad's behavior and then stepped forward.

"Taylor McKessie, apparently one of the hottest chick's ever and dating a total jock." Troy held back a snort at Taylor's words. "I'm also the captain of the scholastic decathlon team."

"Zeke Baylor, Basketballer and I, uh, cook!" Zeke said, Troy laughed inwardly at Zeke's smooth introduction. He watched as Gabriella craned her neck to look up at Zeke. He couldn't blame her, the guy was tall.

"Very well may I add!" Chad added making Gabriella laugh for the second time. Whilst Troy was glad that Chad made Gabriella laugh, he wanted to be the one to make her laugh.

"He's also my boyfriend." Sharpay spoke and Troy winced. She was giving Zeke 'the glare'.

"Sorry babes forgot to mention that-" Troy winced again. That was not a good move for Zeke. Sharpay just gave him the updated version of 'the glare'. "I mean I was getting to it." Nice save.

"I'm Martha Cox, dancer extraordinaire!" Martha yelled and performed her signature dance move. Gabriella, being a sensational dancer herself, looked impressed. Troy grinned at how well his friends and Gabriella were getting on. It was as if she was meant to be in their little group of friends.

"I'm Gabriella Montez, singer and dancer I guess." Gabriella's voice was quiet and afraid. Troy had to try and stop himself from blurting out that she was more than she ever imagined. His friends smiled at her and Troy felt queasy. They were going to do something stupid.

"We know who you are." Like that. Troy groaned inwardly. Gabriella was probably thinking what a bunch of weirdo's. He sneaked a look at her and to his relief she only looked confused.

"You do?" She asked. For a moment she looked like she was going to run out of the gym screaming, or just run away all together. Troy closed his eyes, his stupid friends blew it. He just hoped that they didn't add to it.

"Yeah who doesn't know you?" Great. Chad was talking. That was never good. "I mean the way Troy goes on and on..." Troy jumped forward and placed a mouth over his annoying friend's mouth.

"Chad has no idea what he's talking about half the time." Troy tried to explain, thankfully Gabriella giggled. Wait. She giggled. Troy felt another surge of pleasure rush through his body. That was his new favourite sound.

"It's okay, I like Afro boy." Gabriella smiled, blinding Troy with her beauty. Chad just grinned and stuck his tongue out at Troy who was obviously still stunned by Gabriella's laughter. He was thankful when Taylor nudged him and brought him back to reality.

"So as I was saying, why were you crying?" Troy remembered her red and puffy eyes. Gabriella stopped laughing and looked around. She seemed to be making a decision.

"Well. As you know I'm a dancer as well as a singer. I go to classes at the Chapel of the Arts with my best friend, well she was, Kelsi. Some people from Julliard came down and they were giving out scholarships. I think they only gave out two here. Anyway Kelsi and I performed separately. I did the best that I could, Ms Darbus suggested that I sing and dance. I can do both so I did. So we both tried and in the end I received the scholarship." Gabriella smiled proudly and Troy couldn't help but feel proud of her as well. _Atta girl_, he thought.

"That didn't go down too well with Kelsi and she acted like I stole it from her or something. I felt slightly sad that she didn't congratulate me or was happy for me. But mostly I was upset because I upset her." Gabriella admitted. _Could she be any sweeter?_ Troy thought fondly.

"So she began her plan to obliterate me or whatever she wanted to do. She used the one weapon she had full custody of. Jason." Gabriella said his name in a pained voice. Troy felt his blood boil.

"She knew he like her and she knew that I... liked him." Gabriella said, looking down. The rest of the gang looked at Troy whose fists were balled up tight. Sharpay stood by him and tried to get him relaxed. An angry Troy was never good for anyone.

"Well she used him to her advantage and she kissed him... in front... of me." Tears formed in her beautiful eyes. "I know I'm stupid and possibly the ugliest girl in the school but I thought that I meant something to Jason and Kelsi. I guess I didn't." Gabriella began to cry. Troy was horrified at the words she related to herself. Stupid? No way. Last he heard, she was a genius. Ugliest girl in the school? Please! She was one of the most wanted girls in the school. She was a one of a kind exotic beauty. Miles better than three hundred Kelsi's!

"I ran to the toilets after seeing that, not listening to Jason calling me. Although I almost ran back to him. Almost." _I'm glad you didn't_, Troy added silently. "Kelsi came into the toilets and started to talk about me and Jason. She said he called me pathetic when she told him that I liked him." Gabriella was crying again.

"So then I rushed in here and bumped into you lot." Gabriella sniffed a little. Sharpay, Taylor and Martha hugged Gabriella tightly. She may not have known them well, but they thought of her as a friend the moment Troy told them that he liked her. Zeke and Chad looked at Troy with fury written all over their faces, the three lads were thinking the same thing. Cross was an idiot.

"What an idiot!" Zeke read their thoughts out aloud. He took a seat next to his girlfriend who nodded in agreement. Sharpay had hated Jason ever since he tried to pull down her dress in sixth grade.

"I would never choose a conniving little witch over my best friend, no matter what." Chad added. He may be the clown of the group, but he valued his friends a lot. In his book Kelsi wasn't worth anything at all. And like the girls, he viewed Gabriella as his little sister already.

"Yeah, Jason's a Class A twat." Ryan joined in with the Jason bashing.

"He's not a twat Ryan; he's just blinded by his love for Kelsi." Gabriella spoke and everyone just looked at her. Troy raised an eyebrow. She was sticking up for the guy who had, in theory, dumped her??

"You're defending him?" Martha asked. Gabriella seemed to be lost.

"He hurt you, so forget him." Taylor added. Troy agreed with Taylor.

"Yeah and if he really cared about you then he would have ran after you. I know I would have." He spoke up and then decided to walk out. He didn't want to hear Gabriella talk about the one guy he hated the most. He didn't want to see the spark in Gabriella's eyes as she talked about his enemy.

All his life, Troy had never been so jealous of some one person. When he was younger he always accepted the fact that his older brother was always the first to get a new bike or the latest technology. When Louise was born, he accepted the fact that the spotlight was hers from then on. When he met Ryan, he realized that he wasn't the only person Sharpay could rely on anymore. He had accepted all these things and many more.

But when it came to her, he couldn't – and didn't – want to accept the fact that she was meant to be Jason's. One way or another, as his girl or has his friend. He didn't want to accept that fact. Now, he didn't know why he bothered. Clearly the want was only coming from his end, she was consumed by Jason.

He found an empty bench and sat down, gazing up at the clear, blue sky. At least one thing was clear.

"Hey." A voice surely from heaven was heard.

"Hey." He replied when he saw that Gabriella was sitting next to him. He was definitely surprised. "I was expecting Shar to come but you're good as well...in fact much better." He said looking at her. Her face broke out into a smile and he couldn't help but smile back.

"So, what's your deal with Jason then?" She asked him. Troy just looked at her. "Troy?" She spoke his name for the first time and his heart almost stopped. Almost.

"Normal issues really. The whole soccer and basketball thing is some of it. But he has one thing I may never have." He admitted, his eyes still focused on her. He was going to go for it. Try it and hopefully she wouldn't hate him.

"What's that then?" Troy smiled when he noticed that her voice had gone up an octave, maybe there was some hope.

"You." He said quickly and then looked away.

"Me?" Her voice had reached the squeaky level and he thought of it as the opportune moment.

"Yeah, you" He breathed and looked at her again. She looked back and he could feel himself falling deeper and deeper. Neither wanted to break the intensity of the gaze. Slowly he began to lean towards her and she did the same. Troy wanted to jump up and do a happy dance but he couldn't find the energy or strength to pull away from the magnetic pull of her lips. His heart beat frantically as he felt the sweet trickle of her breath and the pressure of her lips. His eyes moved to hers before he swooped down and captured her lips with his own. After a moment he felt her kissing back and it was just like he imagined. Her arms moved around his neck, her hands ran through his hair and he was glad that he didn't use gel that morning. He pulled her onto his lap, his arms clasped tightly around her small waist as their bodies pressed up against one another. He deepened the kiss even more, it would have looked like he was trying to eat her. But her hunger for him was present as well because neither of them wanted to break it off. It was more magical than he imagined.

"Oi Bolton! Get off her!" The pair broke apart unwillingly and began to shoot daggers at the person who interrupted them. It was Jason with Kelsi behind them. Troy snorted when he realised that Kelsi looked shocked. He looked up at Gabriella who raised her hands and touched her lips and then grinned. Troy grinned too and tightened his grip around her. "Gabriella, get here right now!" Jason ordered. Troy didn't like Jason's tone of voice. If it weren't for Gabriella sitting on his lap, then he would've been pummeling Jason right then. He watched as Gabriella looked at Jason and then back at himself. He worried that she was going to jump off his lap and run up to Jason. But she didn't.

"Sorry, no can do." She said as she snuggled closer to Troy. Troy welcomed her closeness happily.

"Gabriella if you don't get off him then you won't see me around anymore. So choose now. Me or him?" Jason asked and Troy waited anxiously for her answer. Automatically Gabriella answered.

"Him." She stated blatantly. Jason stormed off with Kelsi trailing behind him. Gabriella smiled at Troy before reconnecting their lips. At that moment, with his lips connected to hers, he knew that in Gabriella was everything Troy wanted. He was certain that she was his and was positive about one fact. That he always wanted her.

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